Sunday, December 23, 2007

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

I got locked out of my parents house today. It all started at about 11 am. I had just settled in the TV room, reading through "The Meaning of Liff" when I saw a squirrel eating bird seed out of the bird feeder in the backyard. I grabbed my camera and headed outside, locking the door behind me because there was a big sign that reads "Lock this door!" The squirrel ran away and the birds were too fast. Then I decided to head back inside, But to my dismay all the doors were locked!

My parents have a number pad lock on the front door and my Dad told me the code, I forgot which numbers they were exactly. Having no heuristic to use I started algorithmically at 1111. Eventually I found the code that worked but it didn't open the lock all the way and at that point I was aimlessly going through the list so I didn't remember the order of the numbers. I needed to find a pen.

I managed to get into the garage through a window and found a pen. I narrowed the list down to 32 possible numbers using the numbers I suspected were in the code. Regardless, the lock on the door was either completely locked out or the batteries were dying... Home alone, stranded in the garage with a pen, a camera, a propane heater (lucky!), a radio and various tools, equipment and stuff. I think I had it pretty good for being locked out!

During my exile to the garage I discovered a box of memories. it belonged to my older sister and it contained many pictures. Most of the pictures were from her time at a summer camp as a camp leader but there were also some old family pictures. It was good to look at those pictures and take a look into the past.

This is a stuffed soccer ball I made in grade 8 Home Ec.

Music!

Emily on her 1st birthday. Hard to believe she is getting married this summer.

Heat!

A Portriat of me in preschool. I attend Gingerbread House Preschool, which was run by our neighbor just down the street.

Monday, November 26, 2007

Hey everyone. I just wanted to say sorry that I have not blogged in quite awhile. School has been very stressful and I often forget to share my troubles with others. But I am encouraged that God is very big. Bigger than any of my small little school problems that I am experiencing right now. This afternoon I took a small break to pray and read a somewhat random Bible passage to see what it had to say. I read from Acts 25 and 26 where Paul is put on trial in Caesarea and appeals the court to appear befor Ceaser in Rome. Reading this I thought, 'Wow that is a big presentation that Paul needs to make.' Paul has alot on his shoulders and he does it with the help of God. If God helps Paul with the big thing, I think I can trust God in the littles things, such as my presentations coming up this week.

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Last night I attended worship 937, a worship service that starts at 9:37 PM Wednesday nights in the SAC at King's. There was a speaker from a YWAM centre in New Zealand speaking that night. She talked about her experience in operating a house for homeless children in a city there. She explained that she did it just to show love to others. She wants to love people as God loves people and she says that this is a painful thing to do. I think it's painful because it is unconditional. It's hard to imagine loving someone without receiving anything in return. But that is what Jesus did for us. He loved us to death and he asks nothing in return from us. I feel so guilty when I am reminded of the nature of God's love.

How do we love like God loves? Matthew 25 talks about the goats and the sheep and about how God loves the sheep. The sheep are those people that love their neighbors "just because". Matthew 25 talks about feeling the hungry, filling the thirsty, being hospitable, clothing the naked, and looking after those that are sick or in prison. Whatever we do for the least of these we do for God. When we love others, we love God.

The woman (sorry, I have forgotten your name!) who spoke last night has been called to love by being hospitable, that is her thing. She opens up her house to children that needa place to stay. I have been called to visit prisoners, that is how I love. This way of loving is often overlooked but it is important to be there with those people. It is very difficult to be in prison and they don't often get to experience the love that God offers.

Once a month I go to a young offenders centre here in Edmonton with 2 of my friends to lead a small youth group with about 10 youth from the centre. We sing songs, play games, do skits, talk to and with them, teach and learn together. Everyone that comes to this youth group has volunteered to come so I think that they are at least a bit interested in knowing more about God.

But with only 3 of us going each month is somewhat difficult for us to continue in this community. If one of us cannot make it one month then we cannot go at all that month. It would be awesome if we had more people to join us. We need more people to care about the fate of prisoners, especially young offenders in a meaningful way. So I ask you, if you are interested, please let me know if you are interested joining us in this community. We need as many people as possible to help us because next year the current group of volunteers will most likely be moving on from college to new careers and the group may have to be disbanded. I think this community with the young offenders is one that should remain.

If you are interested in joining us and helping us please respond to this note in Facebook or on Blogger. You can also contact me personally at ken.timmermans@gmail.com, phone: (780)465-3500 ext. 8541, Apartment 41 at King's.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

So I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. This is due to the fact that I was, and still am swamped with school work at the moment. But it snowed last night and that makes me quite excited. I just needed to share that.

Last week my apartment mates constructed some pumpkins apparently in the shape of "McLovin" from Superbad. I've never seen this film so I can't say if it is accurate or not.

Also, as I said earlier, it snowed last night. I made a message in the snow:

As for schoolwork, I have a few more weekly theology assignments, a book report, 2 ten page media reviews and ongoing "volunteer" work left. ugh.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Last night I got to see The New Pornographers live at the Edmonton Events Centre. I have to say, it was a pretty decent show. My favorite part of it was probably the extremely active drummer, the drunk guys who only came out to perform a few songs, the old bass player, and the shakers that look exactly like apples. I'm very glad I went. I got to hang out with a bunch of people from my college that I don't usually spend much time with, it was fun. I also got a surprise because I met my 8th grade teachers there as well! I was in his very first class as a teacher. Yeah, we did a good job of initiating him... fart can... broken portable stairs... putting the lens cap on the video camera they set up to monitor us... good times!

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Monday, October 1, 2007

ohkatherine from the ORG ( http://www.zefrank.org/ ) asked me to tell another wonderful story so I thought, 'Maybe I can talk about my tongue.' My tongue is actually (very) slightly forked. It happened one day after school, grade 6 or 7 I will say, jumping on our trampoline. The trampoline was a death trap with rusty springs and no padding, but that is besides the point.

My friend Randy and I were having fun trying to "double bounce" each other where two people jump at a certain time to make one person jump unusually high. Well we succeeded in doing one of these double bounces only there was a problem. When I got double bounced Randy was pretty much directly under me. My open jaw landed squarely on his head and caused me to bite. I bit right though my tongue. We went to the hospital to get it checked out to see if it needed stitches but it was quite small and the doctor thought it would just heal up on its own. But it didn't completely heal and it left this little nub of a tongue all on its own.

Its hard to see, but its there, on the right of the photo. I like rubbing it against my teeth.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Has anyone seen that Staples commercial featuring the "Easy Button" when the parent just presses the Easy Button and poof! Suddenly all their children have school supplies? Well there is such a commercial and I really wish I had an Easy Button. I want an Easy Button that I can just press and suddenly sell my truck. I hate having to answer buyers questions. I wish someone would buy it no questions asked.

Would anyone be willing to help me sell it? I am willing to make a deal if you can help me sell it. Basically I will settle for $2000 but if you can find someone who will buy it for more I will give you the excess money. For Example, if you find someone who will buy it for $2500 I will give you $500 for helping me sell it; If you find someone who will buy it for $2200 I will give you $200 for helping me sell it. Also, if you can find someone who will only buy it for $2000 or less, I will pay you 5% of its selling price. ( $2000 = $100 for you, $1800 = $90 for you...) There for any price between $2000 and $2100 will get you $100. Or if you would like to buy it yourself, I will sell it for $2000 if I need to.

If this truck was in perfect condition it would be worth $3500. But I know that it is not in perfect condition and need some work. I believe that $2000 to $2500 is a fair price to pay for this truck.

Known Issues:Engine leaks coolant.Engine occasionally turns off while stopped at a light or in park. (reason unknown)Catalytic Converter needs to be replaced.Glove Box remains open.Tailgate remains closed.Minor body dents and scratches that do not affect performance.

As you can see, this vehicle does have some major issues but I definitely do not have the cash to fix it up right now and I don't see that happening any time soon.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Well,I started work, school, and living in the apartments this week. I'm not terribly eager about any of them really. School is OK i guess, I have 2 "creative projects" that I can do in lieu of a research paper and I think I want to attempt to do that. One is for Abnormal Psychology with Dr. Sneep and I think that I want to do something with Alzheimer's because my grandpa has a severe case of it and I want to honor him with this project. I just don't know what kind of creative project to do or what that will look like. The other is Cognition with Dr. Looy which I don't know how to handle either yet. I wanted to do something related to blogging or online collaboration (such as the stuff found at the ORG, http://www.zefrank.org). But I don't think that topic fits with the course, maybe next semester.

Apart from those two courses I am also in Psychology of Personality with Dr.(?) Van Belle, Psychology of Exceptional Children and Adolescence with Doschak, and finally The Human Nature Of Evil with Dr. Martins.

Funny story about Psychology of Exceptional Children and Adolescence course; One the first class the professor didn't show up but about 10 minute into the class, when everyone was still waiting for the professor to show up, my friend Salima decided to go to the washroom. When she returned she pretend to be the professor. I was laughing and she asked me in from of the class" what was so funny?" and I replied "Nothing!" After that she got everyone in the class to introduce their name to the class. After everyone introduced themselves, she asked the class what they expected to learn in this class and the room fell silent. Then an older lady gave a timid response thinking that Salima really was the professor. Ah, poor old lady... Then Salima finally admitted that she was not the professor and that she was just having some fun. But Salima did a good job at pretending. She fooled some people despite my laughter early on, Good job! Funnest. First. Class. Ever.

As for work, well, allot has changed some for better and some for worse. Better: Easier for me to put things away, slightly better pay... worse: More dirty dishes and cooking tools, a kitchen staff that doesn't know what to do with really dirty dishes, a kitchen staff that doesn't know what to do with dirty plates bowls and cutlery, very dirty kitchen tools not put into the sink, a generally unorganized kitchen, no time to eat dinner with the student population, a meal that I need to heat up after work, having to do more work... Having dinner with others is something i miss allot, having a warm cooked meal with friends was awesome. I felt part of the community then but now I am part of the community of King's. Maybe I don't need this job for the same reasons. Maybe if I'm not happy there I should go elsewhere...

I don't know if you have ever been to the town of Vulcan, Alberta... but it is a must see for any Star Trek fan. Originally named after the "blacksmith of the gods" in Greek mythology, Vulcan, it became a tourist attraction after the Star Trek franchise became popular. It now boasts a statue of a constellation class ship (like the original Enterprise), a gift shop, a dress up picture area, a Star Trek based virtual reality game, (which I didn't go on) and loots of Star Trek related memorabilia.

Anyway, John I hope that you enjoy this glimpse of Vulcan if you haven't done so first hand already!

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Monday, August 27, 2007

On Saturday I went for one last hike in the mountains before I head east to the "hills" of Edmonton. Gerry, Jason and I headed up to Chilliwack Lake Provincial Park to hike up to Flora lake which is in the same area as Lindamen and Greedndrop lakes that I hiked to previously.

I have to admit that I really enjoyed this hike. compared to the Lindamen/Greendrop (Post Creek) route, the trail to Flora lake travels through open forest. It allows for stunning views of Chilliwack lake and all the campsites to the south. The view would have been even more stunning if the clouds were not there, But I love clouds so I can't complain. The trail first goes to a peak before descending towards the lake. Above the tree line we reached so pretty nice meadowland near a peak. The descent down to the lake is steep and windy as the scenery changes from meadowland to thick forest. In the thicker forest areas we saw many different types of mushrooms and fungi, I took pictures of some but definitely not all. then we reached Flora lake. In my opinion, there really wasn't anything too spectacular about the destination. The journey was more spectacular.

After reaching the lake we took a trail that leads back to the Post Creek train that runs between Lindaman and Greendrop lakes. This part of the trail was really annoying because it involves crossing several large rock slide areas. not good on the feet, not good. Back on the Post creek trail we could see that some improvements were recently made to the campgrounds and trails. New tent platforms, signs and stairs were installed along the path. After 8 hours of hiking, I was glad to give my feet a rest!

Saturday, August 25, 2007

I see that blogger now supports video uploading but this one is slightly too big, so Vimeo it is! Also, I only thought of making it yesterday and I don't really know much about compiling video and audio, but It's a start. One thing I love about my mom is it doesn't really matter what I get her for her birthday because I know she will love it anyway. Enjoy!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Friday, August 17, 2007

Last night I watched the movie "Dazed and Confused" after seeing that it was part of the Criterion Collection. Criterion lends their name to some great films such as "Brazil" and "seven Samurai" so I figured it would be a quality film. "Dazed and Confused is a story about different groups of teenagers on the night of the last day of school. In this film, two freshmens, a guy and a girl, are introduced into the High School world which they will be entering into in the fall. And that world seems to be full of parties with drugs alcohol.

This film made me think about the kind of person I am and who I want to be. There are time when I really want to be someone who fits into crowds like that. Someone who drinks and drinks and drinks, maybe a little drugs... enough to get wasted and have some fun.

I've been to parties before, rarely, and I am usually sober and clean when I go. It's not very fun being sober and clean at parties. I don't fit in, its hard to understand what people are doing, I get too concerned about people who are completely smash and need to get some sleep... I wonder if it would be any different if I were drunk at those parties. I think I would need to BE someone else in order to go to parties like that and enjoy myself.

I don't do drugs because I know it's bad for me and I don't drink much at all because it costs too much and I don't go to parties because I wasn't invited. Instead I stay home and sit at my computer, surfing the web, playing video games, or watching movies... all week long and all alone. It's like I am inside my own little prison cell and none of my peers gives a damn enough to visit me. Especially during the week, I never do anything fun during the weekI don't go bowling, don't go out for dinner, no concerts, no dancing (I don't mind that though, I have two left feet.) no playing in the park, or even hanging out...

I know that my parents do love me and care for me and they do ask me out to dinner often. But I am 25 dammit! I ought to doing be dinner with people my own age. I'm grateful for what they do for me but it makes me feel too dependant on my parents if I went out to dinner with them every time they offered (about 3 times a week).

Anyways, whatever fuelled this rant is spent and I need to go to work... my last day of work for this summer, woohoo.

"About a burning fire" was a valley wide Collage and Careers event that included worship songs, stories by my good friend Gerry Ebbers, and improv comedy by Panic Squad. Gerry told us stories about how in his younger days long past he and his friend were pyromaniacs. They lit (with a flamethrower no less) a ditch on fire an nearly burnt down a small town. He says that when the holy spirit is in our lives, it is like an unquenchable fire, very powerful.

Later Panic Squad came on stage and did some improv comedy. Nearly all the themes they work with are based on what the audience suggests. We must have been funny because they were funny too. My friend Aaron even got to go on stage and do noises for one of the actors. One time he had to imitated a pull string teddy bear and he made it say, " Hehheh, that tickles!"

Saturday day I cleaned the house before my parents came home and played video games all day until evening came. That night I saw the movie Stardust, which is based on a graphic novel by Neil Gaiman and Charles Vess. Neil Gaiman is my favorite author and Charles Vess is a good artist. I think this is Neil Gaiman's first book adaptation that has made it to "Feature length film" status... Anyway I really enjoyed this movie, it has action, adventure, comedy, romance.

Many critics compare it to "The Princess Bride" and say that they are similar. But I don't think that is true. Stardust is more serious than The Princess Bride which is more of a comedy than anything else. Stardust is also more violent thanks to director Matthew Vaughn who also directed "Layer Cake" a film about gangsters. I was skeptical of the director choice at first, but after seeing Stardust I would say it was a good choice.

Sunday afternoon I decided to have some alone time with just me and my journal. I won't tell you what I wrote in my journal because its a secret. But I think it was a good journal entry and I am glad that I wrote it. Maybe one day I'll share it with someone, maybe.

After Church in the evening I had an hour to kill before College and Careers Bible Study so crossed the street to watch some cricket... yes there is cricket in Abbotsford BC Canada, who knew?! Apparently it is quite popular among the East Indian population in Abbotsford. I think that I caught the end of a game of cricket but I am confused. I thought cricket was some sort of team sport but when the thing that ended the game happened, everyone seemed to be very excited... and I have no idea how it happened really! I think I should play cricket some day.

Monday, August 6, 2007

On Saturday I went to the Agrifair, just to check it out, take sound pictures and such. The Agrifair is a fair where clubs such as 4-H display their best barnyard animals in order to have them judged. There are also fairgrounds with rides, prizes, gambling, music, and various other shows and vendors. I hadn't been there is several year, not since I was a kid.

At first I just wandered around looking at chicks (cheep! cheep!), asses (I like donkeys.), doves, pigeons, turkeys, cows, and horses (I swear some of those horses were over 8 feet tall, maybe even 9 feet!)

Then I arrived at the goat/pig barn at the back of the exibition grounds and ran into my good friends the Dykstras. The Dykstras had some of their goats there as well as their 3 pigs. I think some of the kids were playing violin as well, but I just missed them. Then I discovered that there was actually a scheduale of events and that I should check out some shows coming up sooon, so I did.

First I saw the duck and pig races. After alot of hype from the anouncer the Duck race began! My section was cheering for 2 ducks called "The Streakers" so named because they were apparnetly rescued from Wreck Beach, a famous nudist beach in Vancouver, and because they were the only team of ducks that didn't have a collar on and were completely naked... for a duck.

THe duck exploded out of the gate and ran up a slide, then slide down the slide into a small pool. the first duck to get out of the pool wins. And yes, The Streakers did win!

The pig race wasn't as memorable to me, I can't remember if my teams pig won or not.

Then I checked out the Lumberjack show where they had a competion between two teams of lumberjacks. It was more of a comedy then an actual competion. Competions included axe throwing, axe cutting, chainsaw cutting, tree climbing, log rolling, jousting on said log, and two person sawing. The competitors were always trying to cheat while the host wasn't looking, it was kind of funny but I would rather see an actuall lumberjack tournament.

Lastly I met up with Darren and Ann and we saw a circus in the gymnastics bulding. It seemed like they were showing some sort of story to the audience, but I don't think I completely understood it if they were. I don't know why they had one gymnist dressed up like a dragon jumping around climbing poles and stuff... Anyway, I must say that I don't think that I could join the circus and be an acrobat or trapeze artist or do that gymnist stuff. Its quite amazing what they can do with their bodies. probably requireds years of training.

And that is all I did at the Agrifair this year. I heard that the next day they had the Rodeo. I've never been to the rodeo and hope to check it out sometime.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

This blog is intended for anyone out there who loves Lamuel and all his friends at http://objectiveministries.org/ . Objective Ministries is not a Christian website, but rather a Christian parody that might be telling the world what some non Christians think about Christianity. The character Lamuel in the kids section produces images such as this one:

This image displays Lamuel, Objective Ministries christian mascot decapitating Habu the elephant (which represents religions with many gods) while Mr. Gruff the atheist runs out of harms way. When I look at this image, Christ's love does not come to mind.

If this is a Christian, I am ashamed to be one. I am ashamed of all that things that have been done in the name of Christianity such as the crusades, killing abortionists, trying to convert natives, money extorting televangelist to name a few. I am also ashamed of all the things that Christianity has neglected such as the poor, the homeless, the prisoner, the hungry, loving gay people, caring for people with AIDS., etc,... I am sorry for not being a vessel of God's love in this world. Please forgive me.

As a Christian, I like Lamuel because it forces me to re-evaluate my purpose in this world. Whenever I think about, or see Lamuel I will think "Am I really loving my neighbor today?" Lately this summer I have felt a bit guiltily of not loving my neighbor. I am part of a small group at church and we don't do anything to help those in our community. That really makes me quite ashamed.

Christ loves me and everyone else (yes everyone) in the world that he laid down his very life to save us. God says that the wages of sin is death. The sacrifice that Jesus made saves us from death. Jesus: Dying so you don't have to. I wish I would display love like the love that Jesus displayed.

If anyone is interested about reading more about Christian spirituality, I fully recommend "Blue Like Jazz" by Donald Miller. Please feel free to leave comments. It's nice to know that people are listening, thanks!

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Recently I have been thinking, after seeing fireworks, about war. War in other countries. I thought this because fireworks have lots of loud noises and lights. I imagine that in war-torn countries that when they hear loud explosions and crackles and see lights in the sky it is most likely due to a bomb ripping through a nearby building, someone firing a machine gun, or arocket launching to some unfortunate destination. How could we sit by and go "ohhh" and "ahhh" to these sights and sounds while people are dying around the world to similar sights and sounds? I considered boycotting fireworks altogether

But then I thought, wait a minute... boycotting fireworks because they remind me of war is kind of ignorant. I am thankful that I realize that there is war out there and people are dying. I am glad that I have the insight to pull that out after going to the fireworks. I am sure that there are many people in the world who do not think about war and ignore it and just live in there own little world. Fireworks make me aware and that is a good thing.

So, last night I went with some friends to see the "HSBC Celebration of Lights" fireworks in Vancouver. I have to admit, I did have a very good time. We got there about 3 or 4 hours early to get a decent spot of ground on English Bay where the fireworks are launched from. I sat with a few new friends on the seawall at the southern tip of Stanley Park, right near the water. We had plenty of time to talk, get to know each other, and take pictures (more of my pictures can be found at http://www.flickr.com/photos/ktims82/page1/ ). The fireworks started at 10pm and were quite amazing to see and hear.

They of course still reminded me of war but then I thought, 'What if there was peace everywhere on Earth? What if we didn't need bombs or guns anymore? What if we could turn all those weapons into fireworks and have a worldwide fireworks display as an act of celebration?'

When the fireworks ended we made our way back towards the Skytrain like so many other people. The streets were filled people marching from the beach to the closest train stop, Burrard station. So many people that cars had no choice but to stop and sit still.

Overall it was a great night... maybe I'll go next week to the finale. Here's a video clip of the beginning of the fireworks: http://www.vimeo.com/255331

Sunday, July 22, 2007

On Saturday I went to Jason's house to help out with the open house for the dairy that they run there, Goat's Pride. Goat's Pride is an organic goat dairy where many different and wonderful goat products are made. My friend Jason is the main cheese maker there and makes very good, award winning goat cheese there. It is very delicious.

At the open house I helped out by manning the welcome booth along with the "Welcome Goat" that was dressed up in a straw hat and coveralls. She kept trying to eat her hat and eat the stickers that were on the coveralls. My job was to greet people as they came in, giving them a map, a stamp booklet, and selling them goat food. Other activities at the open house included story telling, face painting, cheese testing, goat milking, a petting zoo, and a salmon exhibit. I am glad that many people and young families got to enjoy their afternoon at the open house.

Here are some pictures and a video. The video seems to be too large to fit directly into this blog so here is a link:

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Today I went out to Timmy's with a friend and we talked about few different things but one thing in particular that we talked about was taking God with us. What I mean when I say this is allowing God into our lives to trust him with even the little things, not just the big things.

It makes me think how often i ignore God when I go to work, hang out with my friends, or spend time alone. God is the sort of person that we should take with us everywhere.

I am reminded of a skit that was performed during Worship 937 last semester that starts with a girl deciding that she is going to spend some quality time with Jesus. So she opens her bible and begins to read. suddenly there is a knock at the door and two friends are there enticing her to come to a party with them. She tells them that she can't go but then they tell her that a certain boy will be there at the party. Now she really wants to go and makes for the door, only Jesus (personified) stays right by her side. She does not want to take Jesus with her because she will be ashamed if Jesus sees her at that kind of party, so she tries to make him stay. She tries to tell him that she will spend time when she gets back and tells him to wait but Jesus remains at her side. Finally she is so frustrated that she grabs some spikes and a hammer and crucifies Jesus to the wall and walks out the door to the party.

Sometimes I really feel that God is like that in my life. I think sometimes that I try to leave God at home whilst I work and play; only to dust him off every few days. How can I know God if I don't spend time with him? It's not just alone time with God but ALL times with God. I should be able to take him to work or down to the coffee shop or to the movies, band not be ashamed to have him there side by side.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

I was out with dinner with my parents and talking to my mom I discovered that soon my home church will no longer be able to let church members book the building for free for the purpose of a wedding. It is a highly sought after church to have a wedding in because of its very long center aisle. But, anyone who BOOKS the church after august must pay $300 to rent the building regardless if they are a visitor or a member. My mom is the church secretary, so she knows these things.

Should I book the church now for... hmm... 2 years in advance (I think I could even get my mom to move the exact date as well) in an effort to avoid the $300 fee? Or is that just too cheap, even for someone of dutch descent?

Monday, July 2, 2007

Today I thought that I would share with everyone a few of my favorite books and mythoughts about them. They are only numbered in the order I pick them up to write about them.

#1: Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller

Over the Canada Day long weekend I have had two different people bring this book up in conversation. I absolutely love this book. To me it is abook about one man's real experience living an ordinary life with an extraordinary God. This book follows Donald Miller as he meets God, grows up, and takes Him to Reed College; a place not known for its Christianity. Blue Like Jazz reads very well. It is a good blend of interesting, gripping stories and thoughtful, well written essays. It even has a cartoon about Don Rabbit and Sexy Carrot in it if you like that sort of thing. (Hmm carrots, that a whole other story I won't get into.)

#2 The Meaning of Liff by Douglas Adams & John Lloyd

I found this at the TKUC silent book auction last semester and was fortunate enough not to have any classes when the auction ended so I could get the last bid in. So I picked this gem up for a mere $1.50 canadian! The Meaning of Liff is a dictionary that uses the names of towns and cities (mostly from the U.K. I beleive) and gives them a definition like a dictionary. For example I will choose a random word...

Burleston (n., vb.)

That particularly tuneless humming and whistling adopted by people who are extremely angery.

Burleston is probably a real place in England somewhere. I like this book because it give words to things that do happen every day but there is no usual word in the english language to properly describe them. I wonder if I am allowed to use the words found in this book in my academic writings.

#3 Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman

As I have mentioned in a previous post, this book inspired me to get a hat. Anansi Boys has action, murder, fantasy, , romance,birds, spiders, cats, a lime, buses, planes, duppies, and a hat. It is the story of Fat Charlie Nancy's life after the death of his father and the arrival of his brother who has god like abilities. How will Fat Charlie be able to cope with all of these changes in his life?

Neil Gaiman is my favorite author and writes very good fantasy documents. I first started reading hos work thought the graphic novel series, The Sandman. I am always excited to see what he will produce in the future. I am especially excited for (what I consider) to be his first graphic novel/illustrated novel to be made into a major motion picture Stardust. (http://www.stardustmovie.com/) I think it hits theaters in August.

#4 Simplicity by Mark Salomon

Mark Salomon is the lead singer for the band Stavesacre and this book is his story. It chronicals his life and his experiences with God as he grows up to be who he is today. Mark Salomon is a person how has had to deal with much strife and growing pains. There are many stories about his childhood with his precristian parents and also his born again parents. Like anyone elses life there are ups and downs, a rollercoaster. Simplicity describes these ups and downs and sometimes I find that I can personally related to them. He struggles with his family, girlfriends, society, being labeled, annoyed, having exceptations as a christian placed on him as he lives his life. Like many of Donald Millers books, Mark Salomon offers a book that many people can related to whether they are Christian or not.

#5 Life of Pi by Yann Martel

I discovered this book through an introducory English course at TKUC. Basically my initial purpose for reading this book was of course to write an essay about it. My essay was titled "Strength of a Boy, Weakness of a Tiger." Life of Pi is a fictional story about a boy, Pi, who is forced to share a lifeboat with a 450 pound bengal tiger amongst other animals. Pi Patel and these animals are the only survivers of an entire zoo's ill fated journey across the Pacific Ocean, will they be able to survive the journey? or will their lives be lost at sea forever?

Life of Pi also offers a unique character through Pi Patel, a 16 year old Indian boy. Prior to the trip from India to America, Pi experiences a clash of different religious ideas and does not struggle with them as much as he experiences them much to the annoyance of his parents. I have heard a rumor that Life of Pi is being adapted to a motion picture and is being directed by M. Night Shamylan (sp?) I think he is a good choice asa director because he may have some insight into being Indian and could create this book from an Indian perspective much like Yann Martel has.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Saturday morning I went hiking with my friends Jason, Gerry and Kevin. Mount St. Benidict is located in the Mission/Hatzic area about 30 minutes from Abbotsford where I live. The hike involves about 2 1/2 hours hiking uphill and about 1 1/2 hours downhill with varying inclines ranging from 35 degrees to 60 degrees. About 2/3rds of the way up we encountered allot of snow but decided to hike through it to get to the peak. We believe that the snow actually made it easier to hike to the top because it was more like a ramp then stairs and we could make our own trail to the top. When we reached the peak we ate lunch with our heads in the clouds, literally. From the peak we could see a couple ponds we passed on the way up and a lake that we believe to be Davis Lake as well as other mountains nearby. The way down was very fun because we could slide/ski down the snowy parts. It was a very fun hike and I definitely enjoyed spending time talking with my friends and bonding as we go on an adventure. I look forward to doing more hikes in the future!

Sunday, June 24, 2007

It's been awhile since I did a blog so I thought maybe I should write one. But what top write about...

Oh yeah, I went to another wedding this weekend. My friends Terry and Ivory from BC got married yesterday in Yale BC. (the town/village of Yale is beyond Hope) They had their wedding in a historic church that is nearly 150 years old! It was a small, simple, and beautiful service. Later there was a reception at a church in Hope. As a guestbook type thing that had a picture frame that everyone signed. I signed it with 'Ken "Timmy" Timmermans". Back in the day I used to frequent the Tim Hortons across from the movie theater in Mission after watching a movie with the couple and other friends; that's where they nicknamed me "Timmy". I think Ivory even suggested that I should name my son Timmy... Timmy Timmermans, I'm not sure about that.

There was also scrumptious finger food, fiddletastic violin playing, a bunch of people I didn't know, a bunch of people I did know, an ICE CREAM wedding cake, and... punch. After the reception we drove around Hope honking our car horns in a big envoy of vehicles. Hopes not that big so it doesn't take very long.

Here are a few pictures that I took. (other people have many more photos that are much better quality than the ones I took) Enjoy!

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Sequence #1It starts out with a bunch of people over at my parents house, apparently top watch movies or something all night. I know its all night because Shelley, the one organizing it told me about the pancake breakfast after. I get irritated because I know that I would seriously dislike having people watch movies all night when I am trying to sleep before work the next day. My dad is in the kitchen and there is a large brown snake with black spots curled up on the counter quite close to my dad's hand. People I recognize here are Shelley, Dad, Derrick, and Jebarre.

Sequence #2I leave home and go to some sort of religious setting. Its a big room with an extremely high ceiling and it has a huge statue in the center of the room. The statue is all white, is egg/chalice shaped, and has several head busts attached to it that seem to float in mid air. There are people crawling around this massive statue with their heads scrapping the ground. I think I see my mother doing this, but I am not sure. There are also people standing around the statue watching the people crawl around it. They are listening to a man saying something from a speaker somewhere. People I recognize here are Mom.

Sequence #3The statue room creeps me out so I decide to go on vacation. I am doing some sort of winter sport on a mountain and I go over a jump but I wipe out. Good thing there was a camera stationed right there to catch it. I get up and the landscape changes (much like seasons change). Its not a mountain anymore but a river of melting snow and water. I see my cousin Erica and possibly her parents on the other side of the snow-melt river and tell them they are on the wrong side. I walk on and find a path. The path is alongside a clean looking lake at the base of a mountain, the kind of scene people make postcards out of. In the lake is a women lying on an air mattress. She has grey hair, but looks about 50. I toss a puzzled look (while she catches) and I walk on. Next to the lake is a tavern. I enter the tavern and it turns out to be part of a larger building, a hotel perhaps. Everything is made of wood and it feels like it's from a western. There are people everywhere, all dressed like western movies city folk, sitting, talking, moving about, a real busy place. At this point I think about something, but I can't remember what. Then I sense that some people around me are becoming suspicious of me for some reason. At this I pull out a gun ( a small WOODEN pistol) and start to find an exit. No one chases me but I get startled look wherever I run. Eventually I find a bar at the other end of the building which has an exit. I now find myself outside in a city near the ocean. The women form the lake is sitting on the dock but is not startled to see me waving my wooden pistol around.

Sunday, June 17, 2007

I will briefly tell you that Dave and Amanda had a very good wedding and they enjoyed it allot. It was allot of fun. The wedding at Capilano Church (?) was short and sweet. The reception had great food, games, no alcohol and most importantly lots of family and friends. If someone want the Bride and Groom to kiss the had to roll a dice with 4 options on it. 1. They kiss automatically. 2. Trivia about them. 3. Sing a song with "love" in it. 4. Hula-Hoop for fifteen seconds. They also played a small version of "Deal or No Deal" $1000 was the maximum amount that they could have won. When the only two choices were $300 and $1000 were left the newlyweds made a deal to sell their case for $701, which is a good deal because their case had the $300 prize in it! That will help them on their honeymoon which Davc won't tell anyone about, sigh. There was also dancing to end off the night in celebration.

That was everyones general experience of the wedding. Now let me tell you mine. I was responsible for taping a video of the wedding which is generally a new experience for me. Part way through the wedding I accidentally dropped the camera which hit the record button. So for a few minutes I didn't notice and then hit record again. This means there is a chunk missing from the wedding.

I was really disappointed and it cast a looming shadow over my entire day. I did have fun at the reception, but I was not myself. Normally I would have taken my camera and taken a ton of pictures but I didn't want to screw up and take crappy pictures all night. I already screwed up one thing that day.

I managed to get up to the mic to say a few words to the bride and groom about their new life together. I said that I was blessed to have them in the small group and that God had great things for them in their marriage. I meant to comment on how fortunate we were to have them in our group. About the time when Amanda chose a verse before going to to Whyte Ave. to sing and hand out food only to have a street person, Lenard, read that same verse and affirm God's presence in Her life. About what a good friend and leader Dave has been in my own life and at King's. Thinking about it, I had so much to say, but I only said a few words.

I felt disgraced that day. I disgraced myself and did not allow myself to be the me that God made me to be. But I am very glad that God, my spiritual dad, does not disgrace me. The is nothing I can do to make him remove his grace from me because he love me so much :) I am glad that I can turn to him if I am feeling down and that he can love me for who I am.

Saturday, June 16, 2007

On Thursday night I went to my friend's stag which I helped to organize. I started out at my house where we gave Dave (the groom) a pink shirt to wear for the evening. The shirt read, "TOUGH GUYS WEAR PINK" I thought it would be a good encouragement sort of thing whilst still trying to embarrass him a bit. From there we headed out to the Outback Steakhouse in the south part of Edmonton. They have excellent food there. Most of us had the special which was steak and lobster. I have never had lobster before but I am sure glad that I did that night. After dinner we went bowling. We only got to play one game because it closed at 11 pm, Something I didn't know.I did absolutely horrible at bowling despite all the practice I had been getting on the Nintendo Wii that afternoon. So, after the real bowling a few of us went back to where I was staying and played some Wii bowling, I got a much better score then :)

The next day I had to pay my tuition deposit and it's a very good thing that I did this because it was the last day that I would be able to do so. Later I went to Whyte Ave. to shop for a father's day present and to try on some hats at a decent hat store there. I didn't buy any hats yet, but I might when I return for school in the fall.

When I got home from Whyte Ave. I went for a walk with my little cousin Chelsey. We walked and talked about school and stuff in the park and the ravine near the place where I was staying. Entering the ravine was definitely a mistake. It was infested with large mosquitoes that attacked us in swarms. Needless to say, we were bit a few times.

Later I went to the wedding rehearsal where I practiced myvidoegrapherskilllz. (sorry, my skills are not actually mad enough to be spelt skillz.) This afternoon is the real thing. I hope it turns out alright. We ended off the night by stuffing ourselves at the Buffet Royale and doing some decorating at the reception hall. Buffet Royale had very good Chinese cuisine, very good western cuisine and even a chocolate fountain, Yummy :)

so after all that preparation and build up the big day is upon my friends Dave and Amanda. In about 7 hours the will be married!

I will probablt post a few picture when this is all over, either here or on facebook.

Thursday, June 14, 2007

Well, I'm off to Edmonton to celebrate my friends Wedding. Amanda and Dave will be married this saturday.

Tonight we are having the stag and stagettes. I was charged with planning Dave's stag because his best man, his brother, has never been to Edmonton and he doesn't know what to do there. Because I went to college with Dave I know the city a bit, but I don't get out much so I don't know it well. I think this stag is going to be lame. Seriously, I don't know why he choses me to plan these things.

I wish I could say that I am going on vacation for four days but a friend's wedding is actually alot of work. In addition to the stag I am also being a videographer for the wdding and doing a bunch of things to prepare for school in Edmonton next fall. A lot of work and nervousness, here is hoping that I will have fun doing it all!

Saturday, June 9, 2007

-His father made a "tch" noise and held the feather up to the light. "this is a beautiful feather," said his father. "You don't want it to get all manky. She won't take it back if it's all messed up." Mr. Nancy ran his hand over the feather, and it was perfect. He frowned at it. "Now, you'll just mess it up again." He breathed on his fingernails, polished them against his jacket. Then he seemed to have arrived at a decision. He removed his fedora and slipped the feather into the hatband. "Here. You could do with a natty hat anyway." He put the hat onto Fat Charlie's head. "It suits you," he said.

Fat Charlie sighed. "Dad. I don't wear hats. It'll look stupid. I'll look a complete tit. Why do you always try to embarrass me?" In the fading light, the old man looked at his son. "You think I'd lie to you? Son, all you need to wear a hat is attitude. And you got that. You think I'd tell you you looked good if you didn't? You look real sharp. You don't believe me?"

Fat Charlie said, "Not really."

"Look," said his father. He pointed over the side of the bridge. The water beneath them was still and smooth as a mirror, and the man looking up at him from the water looked real sharp in his new green hat.

Fat Charlie looked up to tell his father that maybe he had been wrong, but the old man was gone.

He stepped of the bridge into the dusk.-

I just finished reading this book for the second time and I really enjoyed it... again. Every time I read it I consider getting a fedora for myself. A fedora is a really classy hat like one that Indiana Jones wears. After reading Anansi Boys this time, I decided to get me a fedora. It's not a green one like the one Fat Charlie gets from his father. I don't think I have enough attitude to wear a green fedora. I got a brown corduroy fedora that matches my brown corduroy jacket, I hope that I have enough attitude to at least pull that off!. Here are some pictures...

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

Today my annoying boss CJ told me to build some wooden cages for some cement mixers I had just build yesterday. I used four palettes to construct each cage. I am glad I only had to build four.

As I was hammering fruitlessly away at a nail that didn't want to go in straight, my co-worker Blair asked me jokingly if I built a tree fort as a kid. Thinking back I never needed to build a tree fort. As a kid I would just climb the tree branches themselves and hangout in the trees. There isa park behind my parents house with several good climbing trees. My friends used to play games like capture the flag, fort knox, glycolgen, and town amongst those trees... Fun times!

On Sunday I rediscovered the joys of treeclimbing when some of my nephews asked if I could play in the park with them I climbed this one tree within view of my parents back yard. I must have climbed a good fourty or fifty feet up. It freaked my mom out. Needless to say, after seeing how easy it was to climb this tree, I did not help my little nephew into the tree. A boy could climb that tree for hours, the adventures that it would bring, only to fall and die a gruesome death?... No thanks, I don't want that on my conscience, especially within view of their parents, eek.

Friday, June 1, 2007

Just wondering you know, maybe no one wants to hang out or I'm too boring or whatever.

Just a thought.

Tomorrow I'm going to Victoria for a day to see a museum exibit about the Titanic at the Royal BC Museum. Too bad it's not at the Wax Museum in Victoria. I really liked that place. It's probalby the only thing I remember about Victoria since it has been quite awhile since I've been there.

I've heard of a couple people who dream of travelling to Victoria and starting a new life there, out near the ocean waves and the great nature of Vancouver Island. It sounds wonderful but sometimes I think it's just a dream, moving away and starting new... Is that possible? I'm glad I'm only there for the one day.

Speaking of dreams, I've been having some recently which is always exciting. A few nights ago I drempt I was back at King's taking a philosopy class with Dr. Dudiack. It was about modren Italian Philosophers. I remeber him saying in my dream that there used to be lots of notable philosophers there in the past but gradually notable philosophers began to originate elsewhere in other parts of europe and america. Its probably not all true so don't quote me on that.

Another dream I had, just last night involved ducks and rabbits. For some reason the ducks had made a home/nest in a cavran/hole in the ground. I stepped away from the hole towards a small ,steep, brown, grassy hill going down. As I neared the edge I realized that it wasn't brown grass, it was dozens of rabbits sitting ontop of eachother to form a hill! The pile of rabbits collapsed as I was at the hills edge. I imagined that they would be quite angery at me and remebered the killer white rabbit from "Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail" so I chose to wake up instead of being eaten alive.

Tuesday, May 29, 2007

Even before I woke up this morning I suspected it would not be a pleasent Tuesday. At work it seem that something was bound to go wrong with whatever I was working on. Little annoying things like a bolt getting stripped or some obscure little bracket peice missing from a sealed package of components. These little things take longer than you think to resolveand yet the day still drags on at a snails pace. On top of that I have two different supervisors telling that I need to build two different peices of equipment at the same time. I'm working in a machine shop this summer that builds various types of farm equipment that are designed to be pulled by a tractor. Anyway, my two direct supervisors don't really talk to eachother and do not know what the other has planned for people to do, it happens alot.

Also I feel like my body is sore in half a dozen places and I have a n ugly festering wound on my toe. Don't worry, I've cleaned it up since I took that photo.

Let me think, what else is broken... not my heart, yet, but definately my social life. That is probably my biggest broken thing. I wonder alot why no one ever calls me up to chat or hangout on a weekday ( or even on weekends really...). It seems that its always in my hands to make first contact and I've never been comfortable with that. I wonder what normal people do on weekdays...

Sunday, May 27, 2007

Every once and a while some friends and I get together to have a LAN party at someones house. For all the non geeks out there a LAN party is a party where everyone brings their computers into one room and connects them over a Local Area Network in order to play video games against eachother, share files, and enjoy eachothers company. Most LAN parties I have attended start Friday night and go till Saturday evening. This is usually a probelm because everyone will stay up to 4 in the morning playing video games then manage to get 4 or 5 hours sleep and then be too tired to play more games on Saturdy.

This one started Saturday morning and ended Saturday evening so that we would actually be awake to play games, which we did get to do. It started with everyone selecting a spot in the room and setting up their computer, easy. Then, as people arrive they need to make sure that they are on the network and that people can access them, also easy. Next there is the deciding of the game to play. Once a game has been choosen half of the people in the room will call out that they do not have said game and request the discs so they have it and also getting the right version, very time consuming. Once everything is setup and ready to go a LAN game is started! But!, there is a problem! One player's computer decides to be stupid and does not connect properly for that particular game. So the other players either leave them in the dust, or play a different game (which half of the room will need to install).

Whilst playing games when they are working properly there is a clear division between pro gamers and not so pro gamers. Over the course of a game pro gamers will undoubtably become more powerful andcollect resources at an alraming rate. Victory is within their grasp. Not so pro gamers will undoubtably struggle to gain power and struggle to make ends meet. Annialating is within their grasp. But for pro gamers and not so pro gamers LAN parties can be enjoyable once all the kinks are worked out. We played Warcraft 3: DotA, Age of Empires 3, and Half Life 2: Deathmatch